Chaz Bono to star on ‘Degrassi’

Chaz Bono is returning to acting after landing a role on hit Canadian teen drama “Degrassi.”

The writer and equal rights activist headed to Toronto this week for what he called “a little acting job,” and he has now revealed that he has been busy filming an appearance for the upcoming 12th season of the popular TV show.

In a post on his Twitter.com blog on Thursday, he writes, “I can finally say the reason I’m in Toronto is to film an episode of ‘Degrassi.’”

Bono stars as a talent show judge on the program and offers support and advice to the show’s transgender teen character, Adam, and he admits taking part in the project was of great personal importance to him.

He tells NationalPost.com, “There are a lot of trans kids and teens and to have representation of themselves really means a lot.

“At that age there wasn’t anything (for me). I didn’t know about transgender people or that there was a possibility to transition or anything. And it made it really difficult to figure out what was going on with me.”

It will be Bono’s first acting gig since beginning the process of gender reassignment surgery in 2008, when he was legally a woman known as Chastity.

The former “Dancing with the Stars” contestant, 43, previously appeared in 1994 drama “Bar Girls” and 2004 comedy “Fronterz,” while he also featured as a kid on “The Sonny and Cher Show” with his parents.